Like this:

With the holiday season in sight I was looking for places to wander around Bangalore. The last minute plans at a long weekend to find reservations don’t always work. Well, that’s a lesson learnt for me.

After spending the Christmas with friends, I went for a day visit to Shivasamudram located in Mandya district, Karnataka. There were two ways to reach there, first via Kanakpura – NH209 and second via Bangalore-Mysore highway. Its located at approx. 130 kilometers from Bangalore.

We had left early morning around 7, via Kanakpura Road. My original plan was to spend the day at Bheemeshwari Fishing Camp located in Basavana Betta Forest. The drive included passing through the Forest Reserve Area.

To give you a glimpse of the wonderful ride – we passed through a very narrow strip of road on the mountains. Cauvery river by the side at times & occasional spotting of deer. But, beware of the monkeys on the way who will jump at car windows to snatch your camera !

Unfortunately, the Bheemeshwari fishing camp was all sold out for the day & we were unable to stay there. Not to be one to be disappointed we moved towards our final destination “Shivasamudram” to enjoy the waterfall. You should be prepared to walk down some 250 steps to reach the waterfalls or you can enjoy the not so cool view from watch towers. We could easily spot people climbing up the rocks to go and bath. That’s bit risky and I would advise not to try it at all. The water is shallow near the corners & you can easily enjoy there.

Best time to visit would be just after the rainy season in October, when the mighty Cauvery river is filled with water. After spending half of the day in lap of nature it’s time to head back home. For return journey we took a detour through Bangalore- Mysore highway and stopped at Rasta Cafe for refreshments. And headed onto the NICE Road to avoid the evening city traffic.

A word of advice – we could not stop many restaurants on our way, so do keep a stock of food items and water with you for the journey…